Editing Gardening (section)

===Pest control===
There are many ways by which unwanted pests are removed from a garden. The techniques vary depending on the pest, the gardener's goals, and the gardener's philosophy. For example, snails may be dealt with through the use of a chemical pesticide, an organic pesticide, hand-picking, barriers, or simply growing snail-resistant plants.

On a large scale, [[pest control]] is often done through the use of [[pesticide]]s and [[herbicide]]s, which may be either [[Organic agriculture|organic]] or artificially synthesized. Pesticides may affect the [[ecology]] of a garden due to their effects on the populations of both target and non-target species. For example, unintended exposure to some [[neonicotinoid]] pesticides has been proposed as a factor in the recent decline in [[honey bee]] populations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=M. |last2=Beguin |first2=M. |last3=Requier |first3=F. |last4=Rollin |first4=O. |last5=Odoux |first5=J.-F. |last6=Aupinel |first6=P. |last7=Aptel |first7=J. |last8=Tchamitchian |first8=S. |last9=Decourtye |first9=A. |year=2012 |title=A Common Pesticide Decreases Foraging Success and Survival in Honey Bees |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00731655/file/51503_20120420060922456_1.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Science |volume=336 |issue=6079 |pages=348–350 |bibcode=2012Sci...336..348H |doi=10.1126/science.1215039 |pmid=22461498 |s2cid=41186355 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108011236/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00731655/file/51503_20120420060922456_1.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-08}}</ref> Pesticides and herbicides are also known to cause medical issues, typically to those in proximity during their application.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Athukorala |first1=Wasantha |last2=Lee |first2=Boon L. |last3=Wilson |first3=Clevo |last4=Fujii |first4=Hidemichi |last5=Managi |first5=Shunsuke |date=2023-03-01 |title=Measuring the impact of pesticide exposure on farmers' health and farm productivity |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592622002156 |journal=Economic Analysis and Policy |volume=77 |pages=851–862 |doi=10.1016/j.eap.2022.12.007 |issn=0313-5926}}</ref> While farm workers are by far the most affected by the use of pesticides and herbicides, they are often under-informed or accept the consequences due to financial necessity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/28/1/43/1553663?login=false |access-date=2024-03-17 |journal=Journal of Public Health|doi=10.1093/pubmed/fdi066 |title=Our farmers at risk: Behaviour and belief system in pesticide safety |date=2006 |last1=Palis |first1=F. G. |last2=Flor |first2=R. J. |last3=Warburton |first3=H. |last4=Hossain |first4=M. |volume=28 |pages=43–48 |pmid=16436451 }}</ref> [[Fungicide]]s may be applied to the seed coat to reduce mortality of germinating seedlings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoose |first1=Benjamin W. |last2=Geary |first2=Bradley D. |last3=Richardson |first3=William C. |last4=Petersen |first4=Steven L. |last5=Madsen |first5=Matthew D. |date=January 2022 |title=Improving dryland seedling recruitment using fungicide seed coatings |journal=Ecological Solutions and Evidence |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi=10.1002/2688-8319.12132 |bibcode=2022EcoSE...3E2132H |issn=2688-8319|doi-access=free }}</ref> The improper use of pesticides often leads to [[pesticide resistance]] which poses a risk in global food security.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Council |first1=National Research |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cayHXWAfI7QC&dq=pesticide+resistance&pg=PT10 |title=Pesticide Resistance: Strategies and Tactics for Management |last2=Agriculture |first2=Board on |last3=Populations |first3=Committee on Strategies for the Management of Pesticide Resistant Pest |date=1986-02-01 |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-03627-6 |language=en}}</ref> With climate change affecting the distribution of pests, a global increase in pesticide usage has been observed which in turn has caused an increase of human health risks due to exposure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tudi |first1=Muyesaier |last2=Daniel Ruan |first2=Huada |last3=Wang |first3=Li |last4=Lyu |first4=Jia |last5=Sadler |first5=Ross |last6=Connell |first6=Des |last7=Chu |first7=Cordia |last8=Phung |first8=Dung Tri |date=2021-01-27 |title=Agriculture Development, Pesticide Application and Its Impact on the Environment |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=1112 |doi=10.3390/ijerph18031112 |doi-access=free |issn=1660-4601 |pmc=7908628 |pmid=33513796}}</ref> Creating new pesticides in order to manage resistant organisms is an immense expense and is often heavily criticized as an ineffective method of pest control.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Fred |last2=Brown |first2=Zachary S. |last3=Kuzma |first3=Jennifer |date=2018-05-18 |title=Wicked evolution: Can we address the sociobiological dilemma of pesticide resistance? |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aar3780 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=360 |issue=6390 |pages=728–732 |doi=10.1126/science.aar3780 |pmid=29773742 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>
[[File:Crop under cover - geograph.org.uk - 4705215.jpg|thumb|210x210px|Crop under row cover to protect plants from pest damage.]]
Other means of control include the removal of infected plants, using [[fertilizer]]s and bio stimulants to improve the health and vigor of plants so they better resist attack, practicing [[crop rotation]] to prevent pest build-up, using foliar sprays, [[companion planting]], and practicing good garden hygiene, such as disinfecting tools and clearing debris and [[weed]]s which may harbor pests.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Self-Sufficient Gardener Podcast--Episode 24 Companion Planting and Crop Rotation |url=http://theselfsufficientgardener.com/2010/08/11/episode-24-companion-planting-and-crop-rotation/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918114758/http://theselfsufficientgardener.com/2010/08/11/episode-24-companion-planting-and-crop-rotation/ |archive-date=18 September 2010 |access-date=2010-08-13 |df=dmy}}</ref> Another common method of pest control, used frequently in market gardening, is using insect netting or plastic greenhouse covers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Böckmann |first=Elias |date=2022-12-01 |title=Effects of insect net coverage in field vegetables on pests, diseases, natural enemies, and yield |journal=Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection |language=en |volume=129 |issue=6 |pages=1401–1415 |doi=10.1007/s41348-022-00644-1 |issn=1861-3837|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022JPDP..129.1401B }}</ref> Gardeners may rely on one type of pest in order to eliminate another. Some examples of this are cats which hunt mice and rats, wild birds, bats, chickens, and ducks which hunt insects and slugs, or thorny hedges to deter deer and other creatures. Using these organisms to help control pests is called [[biological pest control]]. There are also targeted measures of animal pest control, such as a mole vibrator, which can deter mole activity in a garden, or automated gun shots to scare off birds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mole-ested |url=http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/1998/04/mole-ested?page=0,2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529055911/http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/1998/04/mole-ested?page=0,2 |archive-date=29 May 2014 |access-date=2014-05-28}}</ref>
[[File:.22LR_ratshot.jpg|thumb|CCI .22LR snake shot loaded with #12 shot|302x302px]]

==== Garden guns ====
{{Main|Garden gun}} 
Garden guns are smooth-bore shotguns specifically made to fire [[.22 caliber]] [[snake shot]], and are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. Garden guns are short-range weapons that can do little harm past {{convert|15 to 20|yard}} and are relatively quiet when fired with snake shot, compared to standard ammunition. These guns are especially effective inside barns and sheds, as the snake shot will not shoot holes in the roof or walls, or more importantly, injure livestock with a [[ricochet]]. They are also used for pest control at [[airport]]s, [[warehouse]]s, and [[Meat packing industry|stockyards]].<ref name="Eger2">{{cite web |last1=Eger |first1=Christopher |date=28 July 2013 |title=Marlin 25MG Garden Gun |url=http://www.marlinforum.com/Marlin-25MG-Garden-Gun.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918005923/http://www.marlinforum.com/Marlin-25MG-Garden-Gun.html |archive-date=18 September 2016 |access-date=17 September 2016 |website=Marlin Firearms Forum |publisher=Outdoor Hub LLC |df=dmy-all}}</ref>